Here is today's Green Bay Update from Jeff Ash. If you have any questions
or comments about the update, contact Jeff at jeffash@netnet.net
--------------------------------------------------
Greetings from Green Bay, where our mild winter continues, though we again
have a dusting snow on the ground after having almost none left last week.
The Packers thus far have lost 2 players to free agency and 1 in the
expansion draft ...
-- Backup QB Doug Pederson went to the Eagles, signing a 3-year, $4.9
million deal with a $2 million signing bonus. He'll be their starter next
year, sort of a stopgap while they develop a rookie QB to be drafted in
April. Rick Mirer will become the Packers' No. 2 QB, and Matt Hasselbeck
likely will be the No. 3, having just signed a new deal.
-- RG Adam Timmerman went to the Rams, signing a 5-year, $18.7 million
deal. Too rich for the Packers, who conceded as much. He was the Rams' top
priority among free-agent linemen and will move to LG in St. Louis, playing
next to Orlando Pace. He played there briefly during the 1995 playoffs for
the Packers. Timmerman also looked at the Eagles, but he and his wife
preferred staying in the Midwest. Joe Andruzzi likely will become the
starting RG. The only way Ross Verba would move there would be if John
Michels or Mike Wahle has a great camp at T.
-- FB Michael Blair went to the Browns in the expansion draft, the 25th of
their 37 picks. When he was chosen, the Packers pulled back WR Roell
Preston. The Browns passed on the others in the pool: DE Reggie White, WR
Robert Brooks and T Matt Willig.
-- It seems almost a lock that neither DT Bob Kuberski nor RB Travis Jervey
will return to the Packers. Kuberski is likely to sign with the Eagles or
Patriots, and he prefers Philadelphia. Less certain is the status of FB
William Henderson. He's seeking $2.5 million a year (the Titans, Jets and
Chargers are interested), and the Packers are offering only $1.5 million.
Also shopping themselves: RB Darick Holmes (to the Colts, Saints, Chargers
and Patriots) and LB Lamont Hollinquest (to the Chiefs and Panthers),
although both seem open to returning to the Packers if they don't get the
right deal elsewhere. All of these players, except perhaps Henderson, are
seeking more playing time. Jervey is still rehabbing his broken leg.
.... and the Packers have signed 5 of their own free agents ...
-- The biggest move was signing DT Santana Dotson to a 5-year, $25.5
million deal. The breakdown: $5.5 million signing bonus and salaries of $2
million this year, $4 million in 2000 and 2001, $4.5 million in 2002 and
$5.5 million in 2003. It was more than the Packers wanted to pay, but they
clearly saw Dotson as the key to the defense. The Packers were hoping to
sign Dotson for $20 million to $22 million, but he certainly would have
signed elsewhere quickly had he not worked it out with the Packers. For
instance, the Jaguars had him as their top free-agent prospect and offered
him even more than the Packers, an average of $5.5 million a year, but
Dotson wanted to stay in Green Bay.
Dotson's deal makes him the highest-paid defensive player. SS LeRoy
Butler's agent briefly suggested his client might want to renegotiate his
deal, which averages $3 million a year, but Butler said no. A quote from
Butler: "My deal is done. There's nothing I could do. I'll just be a Pro
Bowl player and an all-pro and it won't bother me one bit. I'm not Sterling
Sharpe. My teammates can rely on me. I would never hold out. I won't stick
my chin out like that. No amount of money could make me do something like
that to my teammates." Of course, Butler wouldn't mind a raise: "I'm hoping
they do something. If they don't, I'm fine. It's no big deal."
-- LB George Koonce signed a 4-year, $11 million deal. The breakdown: $2.85
million signing bonus and salaries of $950,000 this year, $1.05 million in
2000, $1.7 million in 2001 and $2.2 million in 2002, with a variety of
roster bonuses and incentives.
-- WR Bill Schroeder gets a 3-year, $2.5 million deal. The breakdown:
$800,000 signing bonus and salaries of $325,000 this year, $625,000 in 2000
and $725,000 in 2001. He's strictly a receiver now, and won't return kicks.
-- DT Billy Lyon, likely to become one of the Packers' top backups this
year, gets a 4-year, $2.1 million deal. The breakdown: $300,000 signing
bonus and salaries of $300,000 this year, $400,000 in 2000, $500,000 in
2001 and $600,000 in 2001.
-- LB Antonio London, who blew out his left knee in the season opener last
year, signed a 1-year deal for about $400,000.
-- Close to the $57.2 million salary cap after signing Dotson and Koonce,
the Packers put the heat on White to decide once and for all whether he was
going to retire. He'd pondered a return after Ray Rhodes was named coach,
but the Packers needed his salary space under the cap. When White finally
filed his official letter of retirement on Monday, the Packers freed up
$2.4 million -- White's $3.9 million salary minus the $1.5 million
remainder of his signing bonus, which is applied to the 1999 cap. ... The
Packers also guaranteed RB Dorsey Levens' $2 million roster bonus,
essentially making it a signing bonus and allowing them to prorate it over
the next 4 years and pick up another $1.5 million in cap room for this
year.
-- The Packers also may soon start work on a contract extension with LB
Bernardo Harris, who'll make $400,000 this year in the last year of a
4-year deal.
.... and the Packers have made a few other moves ...
-- As expected, the Packers named WR Antonio Freeman as their franchise
player. He says he won't play for the 1-year, $4.2 million tender offer
(the average pay of the top 5 WRs), and will hold out until he gets a
long-term deal, as did Levens last year. Freeman is seeking $5 million to
$6 million a year. Any team signing Freeman would have to fork over 2
1st-round draft picks to the Packers. Not likely.
How Freeman sees it: "I took that chance of playing with a 1-year deal (as
a restricted free agent) last season. I won't do it again. ... I went
through it classy and businesslike last season. I didn't smartmouth anybody
and I didn't hold any grudges. I made the best of it and I think I came up
big. ... The market has set a certain price for receivers now. It's not
being greedy or not being loyal. It's the opportunity of a lifetime and
I've got to cash in."
-- The Packers made contract tender offers to 6 restricted free agents. CB
Tyrone Williams, LG Marco Rivera and DE Keith McKenzie got 1-year, $934,000
offers, which means any team signing them owes the Packers a 1st-round
draft pick. The Packers are trying to sign Williams to a longer-term deal.
WR Derrick Mayes, C Mike Flanagan and Preston got 1-year, $429,000 offers,
meaning any team signing them owes the Packers a pick in the round in which
the player was drafted. That would be a 2nd, 3rd or 5th, respectively.
The Cowboys reportedly have taken a look at Mayes. Preston isn't sure what
to make of it his situation. A quote from him upon being put on the
expansion list: "When I saw that in the paper I'm like, 'I don't know
what's going on,' For me to have done the things that I did for Green Bay
.... it was surprising. I thought I was just getting started. I wasn't even
in the groove yet. There was a lot more to come than what they've seen. But
before you know it I'm not wanted there, I'm out of there."
-- The Packers also signed DE Chris Reed. He's 6-4, 279, an undrafted
1st-year player out of Abilene Christian. He was in the Vikings' training
camp last year, but was cut in August and didn't play for anyone else after
that.
-- To make room for Reed, the Packers cut LB Anthony Hicks, a 5th-round
pick in 1997 who was hurt for most of his 2 seasons in Green Bay.
-- The Packers will send 4 players to NFL Europe: QB Ronnie McAda, who has
completed his Army commitment and has filled out to 6-4, 225; FB Edwin
Watson, who spent his rookie year on injured reserve after shoulder
surgery; and LB Jim Nelson and CB Denorse Mosley, both of whom spent most
of last season on the practice squad.
-- The Packers took brief looks at a couple of free agents, but decided
Vikings CB Corey Fuller cost too much and Bucs FB Lorenzo Neal wasn't right
for them.
-- Otherwise, don't expect the Packers to be too active in the free-agent
market. Even though money is tight, they might take a chance on a veteran
or two for depth after other teams make their June 1 cuts for salary-cap
purposes. A quote from Reggie McKenzie, the Packers' director of pro
personnel: "People are saying, 'The Packers aren't signing anybody?' Shoot,
there aren't that many players that we want to sign. Before it's all said
and done, we'll make a couple trades. You've just got to draft well. We
don't need to be throwing away all this money for all these bad players.
.... We'll be OK. We'll see what the draft holds."
-- If you're seeking a summary of the Packers' moves in free agency and
answers to questions about free agency, check their web site at
packers.com
.... and the Packers have rounded out their coaching and front-office staffs ....
-- Rhodes has 16 assistants, the largest staff in Packers' history, with 3
more named in the last couple of weeks. He still might add an assistant
offensive line coach, too.
-- QB coach: Mike McCarthy, 35, the Chiefs' QB coach for the last 4 years.
He started as the Chiefs' offensive quality control assistant and worked
with Joe Montana for 2 years. He also has coached at Fort Hays (Kan.) State
and the University of Pittsburgh.
-- WR coach: Charlie Baggett, 46, the associate head coach, WR coach and
top recruiter at Michigan State for the last 4 years. He's been friends
with offensive coordinator Sherman Lewis since Lewis recruited him as a QB
for the Spartans in 1972. He also has coached at Bowling Green and the
University of Minnesota, had an earlier 10-year stint at Michigan State and
spent 2 years with the Oilers.
-- Assistant DB coach: Lionel Washington, 38, who'll help Joe Vitt coach
the CBs. Washington, 37, played for the Cardinals, Raiders and Broncos from
1983 to 1997, but was out of football last year. It's his 1st coaching job.
-- John Jones, 47, is the new vice president of administration, replacing
Mike Reinfeldt, who went to the Seahawks. He's been the NFL Management
Council's salary cap expert since the cap was established in 1993, and
spent 10 of the last 12 years with the NFL as a collective bargaining
contract negotiator and adviser. Jones helped create the software that
helps NFL teams manage the cap and calculates salaries daily, set up a
secure web site for NFL teams to get administrative information and set up
a system for electronic filing of players' contracts. He also spent 2 years
as the Jaguars' top administrator. He also was the first editor of the
Packer Report newspaper and covered the NFL for the New Orleans
Times-Picayune for about 10 years before going into management. Jones will
advise GM Ron Wolf on the cap and oversee all the Packers' non-football
departments. He attended grad school at Wisconsin, and his wife, Cindy, is
from Cedarburg.
-- Lance Lopes, 35, has been promoted to vice president and general
counsel. He helped Reinfeldt negotiate players' contracts and has been
doing all of it since Reinfeldt's exit.
-- Andrew Brandt, 38, is the new lead negotiator, but will share some of
those duties with Lopes. He's been a player agent with 2 of the biggest
firms, ProServ and Bob Woolf Associates; a general manager in NFL Europe;
and taught sports law, business and management at Illinois, George
Washington and American universitites.
.... Finally, some odds and ends ...
-- The Packers again said they won't retire White's No. 92. Wolf says no
one else will wear 92 while he's in Green Bay, but he also said the NFL has
asked teams not to retire any more numbers.
-- WR Robert Brooks is making a nice recovery from this 2nd back surgery,
and is expected to be ready for the April minicamp. No word on exactly when
that will be, but it has been on the weekend after the draft in past years.
-- The Packers will play 4 preseason games, starting against the Jets at
Camp Randall Stadium in Madison, probably the 1st weekend of August. They
also will play 2 games at Lambeau Field, but the opponents aren't known
yet. The only road game will be against the Saints at the Superdome.
-- The stockholders' meeting will be at 10 a.m. Wednesday, July 7 at
Lambeau Field. Pretty much the same deal as last year, with reports,
question-and-answer period and video highlights, though the Packers promise
more concession and merchandise stands will be open.
-- Lambeau Field ticket prices remain the same for the 3rd straight season:
$39 between the 20s, $36 from there to the end zones, $32 in the end zones,
$90 for club seats and $44 for private boxes. Team president Bob Harlan
explains the strategy: "Once we drop down to the bottom 5 or 6 teams in the
league, it's time to increase prices." He adds: "This will be our 3rd year
on these prices. We will be very close to the bottom." Translation: Look
for ticket prices to rise next year.
-- The waiting list for season tickets is up to 47,800. It has tripled in
the last 4 years.
-- Mike Holmgren also took assistant trainer Sam Ramsden with him to the
Seahawks. The Packers replaced Ramsden with Bryan Engel, 24, an intern
since 1997. So far, 13 former Packers coaches or employees have gone to
Seattle. Holmgren dismissed complaints about all the moves, and rightly so,
as business as usual in the NFL. At least 3 people are known to have turned
him down: administrative assistant Sue Kluck, trainer Pepper Burruss and
equipment manager Red Batty.
-- The expansion of the Packers' administration building to enlarge the
locker room, create a players' lounge and build a new weight room is on
schedule to be done by the April minicamp. For now, the players are lifting
weights in the Don Hutson Center.
-- The Packers floated the idea of using a local sales tax, perhaps half of
1 percent in Brown County, or creating a special taxing district similar to
the unpopular one created for the Milwaukee Brewers' new ballpark, to raise
$50 million to $60 million to renovate and expand Lambeau Field. It almost
instantly ran into opposition from state legislators and taxpayers. The
Legislature must approve either option. Harlan has met with Wisconsin Gov.
Tommy Thompson to discuss the stadium issue, as he does each year, but no
one is saying what was said. The Packers have hired a lobbyist to work on
their behalf at the state Capitol. The Packers have said they'll need some
kind of aid after raising only $24 million in the 1997 stock sale. They'd
hoped for $80 million.
-- The Packer Hall of Fame is under construction, getting a $300,000
upgrade to have more interactive exhibits. It's still open every day , and
expected to be done in time for the Hall of Fame induction on Saturday,
March 6. There usually is a free open house at the Hall of Fame on that
day. WR James Lofton and front-office staffer Tom Miller will be inducted
this year.
-- QB Brett Favre and NASCAR driver Dale Jarrett are co-owners of a NASCAR
Busch Series car sponsored by the Rayovac battery company and driven most
often by Kenny Irwin, last year's NASCAR Winston Cup rookie of the year.
Favre was an honorary starter for the Daytona 500. Turns out GM Ron Wolf is
a huge racing fan. A quote from Favre: "He was knocking down my door to
get him tickets and get him on the jet to go to a bunch of races." But
before Favre went to Daytona, he said Wolf "sent strict orders: Stay away
from the car."
Now, a little viewer mail
-- Todd is new to Hanover, N.H., and is seeking a place to watch the
Packers or folks to do so with. He's at Todd.A.Myse@dartmouth.edu
-- Brian in Moscow is seeking information about getting into the annual
Super Bowl ticket lottery. I couldn't find it on the NFL or Super Bowl
sites. If you have more information, drop me a line or let Brian know. He's
at bohall@matrix1.msk.ru
As always, your comments and questions are welcome at jeffash@netnet.net
This week's sources: Green Bay Press-Gazette
(http://www.greenbaypressgazette.packersnews.com), Milwaukee Journal
Sentinel (http://www.jsonline.com/packer/news/) and Packers
(http://www.packers.com) web pages.
This week's soundtrack: "A Night Out With ..." by Blue Plate Special, one
of the lesser-known but talented neo-swing bands; and "Natural Mystic," by
Bob Marley and the Wailers.
-- Recent adventures with Evan: With his birthday party and Christmas just
a month apart, this kid has a ton of new toys laying around the house, some
not even explored yet. He hasn't quite caught on to the notion that if you
pick them up, you have more room to play. ... Evan is really enjoying his
newest CD-ROM, Jump Start Kindergarten, demanding to play it at all hours.
It's like one he played with at his cousins' house over Christmas,
prompting us to add a CD-ROM drive to our old Mac. ... Just turned 4, Evan
is becoming quite a techno whiz. He long ago figured out the Mac. Now he
knows all the buttons on Janet's new VCR in the living room, and he's
figured out how to turn on the various components of my stereo system. He
particularly likes to pop his only CD, a kids' blues album called "Baby
Blues," into the carousel and listen to it through the headphones (yes, we
check the volume level). I walked downstairs the other day to find him
laying on the couch, his legs crossed at the ankles, his arms crossed on
his chest, listening to his tunes. One morning I found him in the same
position, but naked to the world. He'd taken off his pajamas and underwear.
That's it.
As usual, if you wish to show your appreciation for these Packers updates,
volunteer or make a donation to the charity of your choice.
Thanks, Jeff
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